3 players who can replace Shreyas Iyer if he misses WTC final
Team India batter Shreyas Iyer is likely to remain out of action for at least four to five months due to a recurring lower-back injury. The injury initially ruled him out of the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before he was completely forced out of the three-match ODI series.
While it was widely reported that Iyer would undergo surgery, a report in ESPNcricinfo claimed that the star batter has opted out of it. He will now be supervised by the BCCI's medical team at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
While there is no exact date for his return, it is likely that Shreyas will miss the World Test Championship (WTC) final, scheduled to be played at the Oval in June.
On that note, let's take a look at three players who can replace him in India's playing XI in the WTC final against India should Shreyas Iyer miss it.
#1 Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has been backed by the think tank to be the immediate replacement for Iyer. The No.1-ranked T20I batter made his Test debut against Australia when Shreyas was ruled out with an injury in Nagpur.
However, Suryakumar failed to make an impression, managing only eight runs in the only innings he batted. He looked at sixes and sevens against Australia's spinners before being cleaned up by Nathan Lyon.
Despite his failure, Suryakumar has the trust of the Indian think tank, which believes that he can deliver goods for India across all formats.
#2 Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan has been knocking on the doors of the Test side for quite some time now. He has belted runs for fun in domestic cricket and is one of the frontrunners to make it to the red-ball side.
Converting starts into 100s and 200s is no mean feat and the Mumbai batter does it for fun. When asked about the same, Sarfaraz recently said:
"Abhi aadat hi ho gayi hai bade score karne ki, right from school cricket days, kuch alag nahi lagta hai, din bhar jab insaan batting karta hai toh lagta hai roz ka kaam. (I have a habit of scoring big runs from my school days, when every day you bat for long hours it feels like a daily routine."
On top of that, Sarfaraz scores at a decent strike rate. In the absence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz could be the perfect middle-order enforcer in English conditions.
#3 Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari, the middle-order batter from Andhra, fell off the radar during Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid's tenure for reasons unknown to all.
Although he has only one hundred and five half-centuries to his name in 16 games, Vihari is known for putting his body on the line every time he walks out to bat.
He is a gritty customer and could be a good option in the middle order against Australia's pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins. Vihari has played against them before and would be the best bet to tackle them in seaming English conditions.